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Cheryl Roberto said today she will resign from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio at the
end of the year, before her term ends, opening up a seat on the five-member panel that oversees
electricity, natural gas and other utility services.

Roberto, a Democrat, was previously director of Columbus’ city-owned electric utility. She
was appointed to the PUCO by then-Gov. Ted Strickland in 2008. Her term was to conclude in April.

“It has been a great privilege to serve the citizens of Ohio in this capacity,” Roberto said
in a statement. “The difficult decisions of the commission affect every Ohioan and I am proud of
the work I was able to contribute to and of the hard working, dedicated staff of the PUCO.”

She did not list a reason for stepping down before her term was over, or say what she planned
to do next.

Gov. John Kasich will appoint her successor. By law, he will need to appoint someone other
than a Republican. The panel now has three Republicans and two Democrats, and can have no more than
three of either party.

Once a replacement takes office, Kasich will have appointed four of the five members. The
only Strickland appointee remaining will be Steve Lesser, a Democrat.

Roberto has been the sole dissenting vote on several high-profile issues this year. She voted
against a rate increase for American Electric Power in August, arguing that the plan did not meet
the requirements of state law because it would lead to rates that were higher than the equivalent
rates on the open market.

She also dissented on a July vote dealing with the “capacity charge” that competing companies
must pay to do business in AEP territory. The other four commissioners supported a plan that would
delay the charge and then make customers pay, as opposed to making electricity providers pay. She
wrote that the majority solution was “an unnecessary, ineffective, and costly intervention into the
market that I cannot support.”

Roberto, 50, has been an advocate for energy efficiency, leading several of the commission’s
initiatives in this area.

PUCO Chairman Todd Snitchler said in a statement that her “intellect and steady voice have
benefitted this commission.”